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Oxidative stress (OS) is the main cause of secondary damage following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The polarity expression of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) has been shown to be important in maintaining the homeostasis of water transport and preventing post-injury brain edema in various neurological disorders. This study primarily aimed to investigate the effect of the oxygen free radical scavenger, edaravone, on AQP4 polarity expression in an ICH mouse model and determine whether it involves in AQP4 polarity expression via the OS/MMP9/β-dystroglycan (β-DG) pathway. The ICH mouse model was established by autologous blood injection into the basal nucleus. Edaravone or the specific inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), MMP9-IN-1, called MMP9-inh was administered 10 min after ICH via intraperitoneal injection. ELISA detection, neurobehavioral tests, dihydroethidium staining (DHE staining), intracisternal tracer infusion, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, immunofluorescence staining, western blotting, Evans blue (EB) permeability assay, and brain water content test were performed. The results showed that OS was exacerbated, AQP4 polarity was lost, drainage function of brain fluids was damaged, brain injury was aggravated, expression of AQP4, MMP9, and GFAP increased, while the expression of β-DG decreased after ICH. Edaravone reduced OS, restored brain drainage function, reduced brain injury, and downregulated the expression of AQP4, MMP9. Both edaravone and MMP9-inh alleviated brain edema, maintained blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity, mitigated the loss of AQP4 polarity, downregulated GFAP expression, and upregulated β-DG expression. The current study suggests that edaravone can maintain AQP4 polarity expression by inhibiting the OS /MMP9/β-DG pathway after ICH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flammability levels, flame retardancy ratings, and reaction-to-fire (fire response) properties (under five radiant heat fluxes, i.e., 15, 25, 35, 50, and 75 kW m−2) for same real E-glass fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) composite wind turbine blade (WTB) samples were determined by experimental techniques like limiting oxygen index (LOI), vertical flame test (VFT), and cone calorimeter test (CCT). Based on typical CCT results (main test parameters), thermal and non-thermal hazard assessment index systems were selected, calculated, and compared to deduce corresponding hazard characteristics of the blade samples. The WTB shows a LOI value of 25.10% (combustible) and a non-rated (NR) UL (Underwriters Laboratories) 94 classification according to the after-flame time criterion. CCT analyses indicate that higher external heat fluxes correspond to increased peak heat release rate (PkHRR), total heat release (THR), and mass loss rate (MLR) values, and reduced ignition time (tig), flame duration (tfl), and overall flame (combustion) duration (FD) values. Meanwhile, CCT analyses indicate that higher external heat fluxes result in elevated specific extinction area (SEA), rate of smoke released (RSR), total smoke released (TSR), CO yield (COY), and CO production rate (COP) values, and relatively lower CO2 yield (CO2Y) and CO2 production rate (CO2P) values. These results reflect real WTB fires will pose severe situations with noticeable thermal and non-thermal hazards. Multiple physical and chemical evolution processes undergo in burning processes of such fires with higher PkHRR values through heat releases, transfers, exchanges, and feedback. Composite blade materials may be largely deformed and disintegrated in faster rates. Burning blade blocks may form spotting fires and cause secondary ground fires. Local air quality, visibility levels, working, and health conditions of related persons may be worsened. It is really urgent to develop mature, effective, novel, and even revolutionary fire protection and suppression technologies for such fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), once thought to be mere remnants of ancient viral integrations in the mammalian genome, are now recognized for their critical roles in various physiological processes, including embryonic development, innate immunity, and tumorigenesis. Their impact on host organisms is significant driver of evolutionary changes, offering insight into evolutionary mechanisms. In our study, we explored the functionality of ERVs by examining single-cell transcriptomic profiles from human embryonic stem cells and urine cells. This led to the discovery of a unique ERVH48-1 expression pattern between these cell types. Additionally, somatic cell reprogramming efficacy was enhanced when ERVH48-1 was overexpressed in a urine cell-reprogramming system. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated with ERVH48-1 overexpression recapitulated the traits of those produced by traditional reprogramming approaches, and the resulting iPSCs demonstrated the capability to differentiate into all three germ layers in vitro. Our research elucidated the role of ERVs in somatic cell reprogramming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-walled parts with low stiffness and poor machinability are prone to chatter during milling. Chatter can adversely affect machined surface quality and workpiece performance. Most existing chatter monitoring models require training and test data from workpieces with the same stiffness as well as large amounts of training data. In this paper, force signals from workpieces with different stiffnesses are obtained through a series of experiments as source and target domain data. Autoencoders are utilized for feature extraction and support vector machines for chatter recognition. Model-agnostic meta-learning (MAML) optimizes the global model parameters, and transfer learning reduces the demand for target domain samples. The model can monitor the chatter of two types of workpieces at the same time through one training. Compared with common transfer learning models visual geometry group network-16 (VGG-16), this paper decomposes force signals using ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and extracts intrinsic mode function (IMF) components as features. VGG-16 model is optimized by adding fully-connected layers, dropout, L2 regularization for chatter recognition. The proposed method achieves 99% accuracy on source domain and 98% on target domain. The target domain accuracy is 6% higher than without using MAML optimization, and 8% higher than the VGG-16 method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer materials suffer mechano-oxidative deterioration or degradation in the presence of molecular oxygen and mechanical forces. In contrast, aerobic biological activities combined with mechanical stimulus promote tissue regeneration and repair in various organs. A synthetic approach in which molecular oxygen and mechanical energy synergistically initiate polymerization will afford similar robustness in polymeric materials. Herein, aerobic mechanochemical reversible-deactivation radical polymerization was developed by the design of an organic mechano-labile initiator which converts oxygen into activators in response to ball milling, enabling the reaction to proceed in the air with low-energy input, operative simplicity, and the avoidance of potentially harmful organic solvents. In addition, this approach not only complements the existing methods to access well-defined polymers but also has been successfully employed for the controlled polymerization of (meth)acrylates, styrenic monomers and solid acrylamides as well as the synthesis of polymer/perovskite hybrids without solvent at room temperature which are inaccessible by other means. Polymer materials suffer mechano-oxidative deterioration or degradation in the presence of molecular oxygen and mechanical forces. Here the authors demonstrate a synthetic approach in which molecular oxygen and mechanical energy synergistically initiate polymerization and affords robustness in polymeric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice stands as the paramount food crop worldwide, catering to more than half of the global populace as staple sustenance. Accurately and non-destructively predicting rice yield on a large scale assumes paramount importance for assessing rice growth, market planning and food security monitoring. Nonetheless, the pivotal factors that influence the final yield remain inadequately understood. In this study, we evaluated the variation patterns of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Enhanced Vegetation Index, Ratio Vegetation Index, Red Edge Ratio Vegetation Index and Normalized Difference Red Edge during crucial growth stages of long, medium and short-grain rice cultivars (YX054, DF018 and LF203) from 2019 to 2021. We investigated the correlation between vegetation index (VI) combinations at different growth stages and rice yield for these three cultivars. To establish predictive models, we deployed multi-seasonal VIs from multi-year dataset and three regression algorithms: partial least squares regression (PLSR), random forest regression (RFR) and support vector regression (SVR). The outcomes evinced a lack of significant correlation between single-season VIs and rice yield. The PLSR algorithm was deemed optimal for YX054, while the RFR was adjudged most suitable for DF018 and LF203. Moreover, the triple-growth and quadruple-growth period VIs models evinced superior robustness compared to the penta-growth period VIs models for all three cultivars, attaining the highest R2 value of 0.86 and the lowest RMSE of 88.17 kg/ha. This paper underscores the criticality of multi-seasonal VIs in bolstering the performance of rice yield prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to explore the characteristics and rules of atmospheric aerosol in the East Asian Sea for monitoring and evaluating atmospheric environmental quality. Based on Aerosol Robot Network (AERONET), Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer (VIIRS), and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data, the temporal and spatial variation characteristics and differences of aerosol parameters and types in the East Asian Sea were studied by using figure classification method (FIGCM), aerosol optical depth (AOD)440-Angstrom exponent (AE)440–870 method (AA1M), and AOD550-AE490-670 method (AA2M). The results show that the seasonal variation trend of aerosol characteristics and types is obvious in East Asia Sea. AOD, volume concentration (Cv), and aerosol effective radius (reff) in the Bohai-Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in autumn are lower than those in other seasons, and the occurrence frequency of ocean-type aerosols is high. Different from the Bohai-Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan, human activities in winter, summer, and autumn seriously affect the air quality in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Especially at the Taipei CWB site, from aerosol parameters and high biomass burning/urban industrial (BB/UI) aerosol, human activity is an important factor for high pollution at the Taipei CWB site. Aerosol types of AA1M, FIGCM, AA2M, and CALIPSO were compared at Anmyon and Yonsei University sites in the Bohai-Yellow Sea in March 2020. The results show that aerosol types based on threshold classification methods generally have higher mixed aerosol results, and the marine (MA) results of AA1M, FIGCM, and AA2M are close to the clean marine aerosol results of CALIPSO. Comparing the results of AA 2 M and CALIPSO on a spatial scale, it is found that the clean marine aerosol proportion identified by CALIPSO (0.38, 0.48, 0.82) is consistent with the MA proportion identified by AA 2 M (0.43, 0.46, 0.97) in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Western Pacific Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing blood lipid and bile acid profile changes in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Evaluating the integrated model's diagnostic significance for CRC. Ninety-one individuals with colorectal cancer (CRC group) and 120 healthy volunteers (HC group) were selected for comparison. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and apolipoproteins (Apo) A1, ApoA2, ApoB, ApoC2, and ApoC3 were measured using immunoturbidimetric and colorimetric methods. Additionally, LC–MS/MS was employed to detect fifteen bile acids in the serum, along with six tumor markers: carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigens (CA) 125, CA19-9, CA242, CA50, and CA72-4. Group comparisons utilized independent sample t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests. A binary logistic regression algorithm was applied to fit the indicators and establish a screening model; the diagnostic accuracy of individual Indicators and the model was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The CRC group showed significantly lower levels in eight serum lipid indicators and eleven bile acids compared to the HC group (P < 0.05). Conversely, serum levels of TG, CA19-9, and CEA were elevated (P < 0.05). Among the measured parameters, ApoA2 stands out for its strong correlation with the presence of CRC, showcasing exceptional screening efficacy with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.957, a sensitivity of 85.71%, and a specificity of 93.33%. The screening model, integrating ApoA1, ApoA2, lithocholic acid (LCA), and CEA, attained an impressive AUC of 0.995, surpassing the diagnostic accuracy of individual lipids, bile acids, and tumor markers. CRC patients manifest noteworthy alterations in both blood lipids and bile acid profiles. A screening model incorporating ApoA1, ApoA2, LCA, and CEA provides valuable insights for detecting CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometric error is one of the important factors for evaluating the performance of a machine tool, which should be seriously regulated through appropriate accuracy design. This paper proposes a rapid precision design method for horizontal machining center based on Sobol sensitivity analysis method and improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO). Firstly, the geometric error models are established using multi-body system theory and homogenous transformation matrix method. Subsequently, the Sobol method is taken to analyze the sensitivity of geometric errors and their coupling effects, and the sensitivity coefficients are substituted into the objective function of cost-tolerance model. Finally, a multi-objective optimization approach with nonlinear constraints is proposed by comprehensively considering the trade-off between cost and accuracy. An improved particle swarm optimization is applied for the optimization, which can effectively and rapidly obtain the optimal allocation of geometric errors by varying parameters in each iteration and judging the constrains after iteration process. This method provides valuable guidance for accuracy design of machine tools in the manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we collected 56 species of fishery organisms (including fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, gastropods, and bivalves) from four seasonal survey cruises at the Dachen fishery grounds. We measured the concentrations of seven heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, As, and Hg) in these fisheries organisms. We determined their trophic levels using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope techniques. We analyzed the characteristics of heavy metal transfer in the food chain. The results showed significant differences in heavy metal concentrations among different species. Among all biological groups, bivalves and gastropods exhibited higher levels of heavy metal enrichment than other biological groups, while fish had the lowest levels of heavy metal enrichment. Heavy metals exhibited different patterns of nutritional transfer in the food chain. While Hg showed a biomagnification phenomenon in the food chain, it was not significant. Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and As exhibited a trend of biodilution with increasing nutritional levels, except for As, which showed no significant correlation with δ15N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The double-layer NiCr-Cr3C2/Ni-Zn-Al2O3 coatings with sufficient corrosion and wear resistance were prepared on low carbon steel substrates. The intermediate layers Ni-Zn-Al2O3 were fabricated by using low-pressure cold spray (LPCS) method to improve the salt fog corrosion resistance properties of the supersonic plasma spray (SPS) NiCr-Cr3C2 coatings. The friction and wear performance for the double-layer and single-layer NiCr-Cr3C2 coatings were carried out by line-contact reciprocating sliding, respectively. Combined with the coating surface analysis techniques, the effect of the salt fog corrosion on the tribological properties of the double-layer coatings was studied. The results showed that the double-layer coatings exhibited better wear resistance than that of the single-layer coatings, due to the better corrosion resistance of the intermediate layer; the wear mass losses of the double-layer coatings was reduced by 70% than that of the single layer coatings and the wear mechanism of coatings after salt fog corrosion conditions is mainly corrosion wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential applications of magnetoelectric composites in capacitors, sensors, memory electronic devices, and energy harvesting devices have aroused great interest due to their mutual coupling between ferroelectric and ferromagnetic phases. In this paper, BFO/CFO composite films were prepared by the sol–gel method, and the regulation of magneto-photoelectric and coupling properties of BFO/CFO films with different compositions was studied. The results show that with the increase of BFO composition, the interface between BFO layer and BFO layer also appears, the dielectric constant of the film decreases with increasing the content of BFO, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the film increases at first and then decreases with the increase of BFO content. When the composition is 4BFO/6CFO, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the composite film is the highest, which is 2.02 × 10−3%. With the increase of CFO content, the remanent magnetization and saturation magnetization of the film increase gradually. However, when the compositions are 4BFO/6CFO and 3BFO/7CFO, their leakage current is high, resulting in the degradation of ferroelectric properties. The composition 5BFO/5CFO has the highest magnetodielectric and photo induced magnetodielectric response, the corresponding values are 2.21% and 3.88%, respectively. The magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of the film is greatly increased under the action of light, reaching 115%, which could plausibly relate to the photovoltaic effect and the photostriction effects of the film. These results may provide good guidance on designing new photoelectromagnetic detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to improve the thermal stability and flame retardancy of cotton fabrics treated just by a single SiO2, a single B2O3 and their binary composite sol–gel systems. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and tributyl borate were used as precursors. The sols were coated onto cotton fabrics via dipping-baking processes. Techniques including Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index (LOI) and vertical burning test (VBT) were used to investigate the surface functional groups, elemental compositions, crystal structures, surface morphologies, elemental contents, thermal stability and flame retardancy levels of original and sols-treated cotton fabrics, respectively. The results show that the sols converted gel coatings are successfully deposited on the cotton fabric surfaces. SiO2-B2O3 sol finishing cotton fabric shows the best flame retardancy. It shows the highest char residue rate (43.82%), the highest LOI (25.7%) and ΔLOI/Δm (7.0%/g), the lowest after-flame time (10.0 s) and after-glow time (0.0 s without a smoldering process), a relatively complete and continuous char residue after a VBT. The SiO2 and B2O3 sol–gel systems play more synergistic effects than competitive effects in flame retarding a cotton fabric. A SiO2 gel shows effects of a high melting point, a structural support and dimensional stability, while a B2O3 gel shows a fusing capability and a longer pyrolysis process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

γ-TiAl alloy is a typically difficult material to machine, with common machining defects such as grain pull-out and material spalling during machining, resulting in component scrap. As a result, it is critical to investigate the monitoring method of surface roughness during milling. A new model for predicting surface roughness is proposed in this paper. The prediction problem of surface roughness is turned into a classification problem based on deep learning. The features of the force signal are extracted using a continuous wavelet transform, and the one-dimensional signal is converted into a two-dimensional time–frequency diagram to obtain additional information. The transfer learning mechanism is introduced to make the model faster and improve prediction accuracy. The overfitting problem is solved, and the model's generalization ability is improved through batch normalization and a dropout layer. The results show that the method has high recognition accuracy, with a maximum classification accuracy of 98% and an average accuracy of 96.12%, i.e., a 10.52% improvement over the traditional model, allowing it to accurately realize monitoring of surface quality in milling processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perturbations of the gut microbiota and metabolites are closely associated with the progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, inconsistent findings across studies impede a comprehensive understanding of their roles in IBD and their potential as reliable diagnostic biomarkers. To address this challenge, here we comprehensively analyze 9 metagenomic and 4 metabolomics cohorts of IBD from different populations. Through cross-cohort integrative analysis (CCIA), we identify a consistent characteristic of commensal gut microbiota. Especially, three bacteria, namely Asaccharobacter celatus, Gemmiger formicilis, and Erysipelatoclostridium ramosum, which are rarely reported in IBD. Metagenomic functional analysis reveals that essential gene of Two-component system pathway, linked to fecal calprotectin, are implicated in IBD. Metabolomics analysis shows 36 identified metabolites with significant differences, while the roles of these metabolites in IBD are still unknown. To further elucidate the relationship between gut microbiota and metabolites, we construct multi-omics biological correlation (MOBC) maps, which highlights gut microbial biotransformation deficiencies and significant alterations in aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Finally, we identify multi-omics biomarkers for IBD diagnosis, validated across multiple global cohorts (AUROC values ranging from 0.92 to 0.98). Our results offer valuable insights and a significant resource for developing mechanistic hypotheses on host-microbiome interactions in IBD. Gut microbiota play pivotal roles in IBD. Here, Ning et al. use a multi-omics approach to characterize gut microbiota and metabolites alterations, and potential pathogenic bacteria associated with IBD, with the aim to help develop more precise biomarkers for IBD diagnosis and drug targets [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their unique magnetoelectric coupling effect, composite multiferroic materials have significant potential in multifunctional devices (especially magnetoelectric devices) and have already garnered considerable attention. To fulfil the application requirements, improving the magnetoelectric coupling effect at room temperature has grown up to be a primary area of research. In this paper, we present a novel composite multiferroic material system: multiferroic fluids. The fluids are created by dispersing multiferroic particles in an insulating base fluid, exhibiting a strong magnetoelectric coupling effect under external fields. We investigate the physical mechanism behind the magnetoelectric coupling effect, whereby the multiferroic particles arrange themselves into a structure resembling a chain when subjected to a magnetic or electric field. The clamping effect between these chains results in an induced polarization, which, in turn, displays the magnetoelectric coupling effect. It can be concluded that there are several factors that can influence the magnetoelectric coupling effect, such as the magnetic/electric phase, structure, particle size, molar ratio, fluid viscosity, and volume fraction, as well as external factors, such as magnetic/electric field strength. Based on their magnetoelectric and rheological properties, multiferroic fluids are believed to have potential applications such as magnetoelectric storage, sensors, photovoltaics, biomedicine, optical switches, and devices based on magnetorheological and electrorheological fluids. However, further research and exploration are required. Finally, we propose some challenging issues in multiferroic fluids that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiferroic materials have recently as a new useful material because they can exhibit a potent magnetoelectric interaction between the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic orders above ambient temperature. In this paper, BiFeO3/CoFe2O4(BFO/CFO) thin films were prepared by the spin-coating method, and the effects of composition on the crystal structure, surface morphology, electrical properties, magnetic properties, photovoltaic properties as well as magnetic and photoelectric coupling properties of the composite films were systematically investigated. The results show that the main crystal phases of the composite films are BFO and CFO, and there are no other heterozygous phases that can be observed. The AFM results show that the roughness of thin films ranges from 8 to 10 nm, and it increases with the increase of CFO composition on the whole. SEM results confirm that there is a clear interface between different phases of different constituent films, and no obvious diffusion phenomenon occurs. The saturation and residual magnetization values increase gradually with the increase of CFO content, and the magnetic properties are stronger. With the increase of BFO composition, the dielectric constant of the composite film gradually decreases. The photoelectric conversion efficiency of the composite film decreases with the increase of BFO content, and the maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency is 5.63 × 10−5% when the composition is 3BFO/7CFO. The maximum photomagnetic dielectric response is found when the composition of the film is 5BFO/5CFO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rockburst is a safety problem that needs to be solved urgently in deep rock and mineral exploitation. The stress gradient is an important factor affecting rockburst. To explore the influence mechanism of stress gradient on rockburst, the loading and unloading tests of rockburst physical model under different stress gradients are carried out using the self-developed gas–liquid composite rockburst test device. Based on the strain test results of rockburst model, the spatial distribution characteristics of elastic energy are analyzed. The particle size distribution characteristics and throwing kinetic energy of debris after the rockburst of model are studied. The following conclusions are obtained: (1) the value of the stress gradient coefficient m reflected by the strain within the range of the model loading rockburst gradient 1 affects the temporal and spatial distribution of energy release process; (2) With the increase of the vertical loading stress gradient, the rockburst debris gradually changes from large plate debris to small flake, block and powder debris. The maximum ejection distance of rockburst debris gradually increases, and the dynamic failure phenomenon of rockburst becomes more and more obvious; (3) As the loading stress gradient increases, the throwing kinetic energy of rockburst debris per unit mass shows an increasing trend. The research results are of great significance to tunnel safety construction and rockburst early warning. Highlights: The stress gradient is an important factor affecting rockburst in deep rock mass engineering. The value of the stress gradient coefficient affects the temporal and spatial distribution of energy release process. As the loading stress gradient increases, the rockburst debris gradually changes from large plate debris to small flake, block and powder debris. With the increase of the stress gradient, the maximum ejection distance of debris gradually increases, and the dynamic failure tends to be severe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate prediction of strip crown is the precondition of the shape preset model in hot strip rolling. In this study, a new hybrid strip crown forecasting model is proposed in combination with extreme learning machine (ELM) and the industrial data. The production data of 1780 mm hot strip rolling are collected by the on-site data acquisition system to form dataset. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimension of the input data for modeling samples. To improve the prediction accuracy of ELM, an improved PSO based on S-curve decreasing inertia weight (SDWPSO) is proposed to optimize the initial weights and biases of ELM. Finally, the optimal ELM model and simple production dataset are used to establish a strip crown prediction model of hot strip rolling named PCA-SDWPSO-ELM. The comprehensive performance of the proposed hybrid PCA-SDWPSO-ELM prediction model is evaluated by MAE, MAPE and RMSE. The superiority of the proposed model is also proved by comparing the prediction results with those of the other three comparison models. The research shows that the hybrid PCA-SDWPSO-ELM method can solve the problem of nonlinear and strong coupling in traditional engineering. It is suitable for parameter prediction and optimization in the iron and steel manufacturing industry, especially in the process of shape control in hot strip rolling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adding Brevibacillus laterosporus (B. laterosporus) PBC01 to aquarium water on water quality, including Aeromonas spp. counts, growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, and antioxidant activity of the crucian carp Carassius auratus. One hundred and twenty healthy crucian carp (13.56 ± 0.2 g) were reared for 56 days in four different treatments with three replications, as the control group (clean water) and three test groups with PBC01 at levels 5 × 103 CFU/ml, 5 × 104 CFU/ml, and 5 × 105 CFU/ml added to the rearing water. As a result, B. laterosporus in rearing water can lower the concentrations of nitrogen and the number of Aeromonas spp. to varying degrees. As the B. laterosporus concentration increased, the effect became more significant. Crucian carp reared in water supplemented with B. laterosporus showed marked growth performance in comparison with the control group. In addition, rearing water supplemented with B. laterosporus improved antioxidant status in the serum and liver of crucian carp, and increased the intestinal digestive enzyme activity. In conclusion, certain amounts of B. laterosporus PBC01 used as a probiotic supplement in the aquarium water can promote crucian carp growth and improve the health status of these fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of different stress gradient on rockburst hazards, a novel experimental technique was proposed and a series of tests under different stress gradient paths were conducted on specimens (400 mm × 600 mm × 1000 mm) by using a true-triaxial gradient and hydraulic-pneumatic combined test device. The damage phenomena, force characteristics and acoustic emission (AE) signals of the specimen during rockbursts were systematically analyzed. The experimental results indicated that different stress gradient distributions not only affect the failure mechanism of the specimen, but also affect the energy conversion characteristics. With the stress gradient increasing from 0 to 6, the index r decreasing from 0.93 to 0.37, and the power law growth characteristics of the energy acceleration tends to be obvious. The energy released after rockburst accounts for 31.1%, 41%, 77.7%, and 87.5% of the total energy, respectively, which is an important reason for the severe damage tendency of rockburst. Rockburst intensity can be judged according to the stress/strength ratio corresponding to the inflection point of the AE energy fitting curve under different stress gradients, which can be used as an important precursor of rockburst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetoelectric materials that exhibit a large magnetoelectric response at room temperature or higher are crucial for practical applications. However, the direct flip-flopping of magnetic polarization in conventional solid-phase materials under an applied magnetic/electric field is difficult to achieve. In this study, a multiferroic liquid consisting of insulating base liquid and dispersed magnetoelectric materials was utilized as an alternative. MnFe2O4–PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 composite liquids with varying volume fractions (0.5%, 1%, 5%) were prepared by mixing surface-modified MnFe2O4 and PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 particles in a 1:1 mass ratio and dispersing them in insulating dimethylsilicone oil. The microstructure, dielectric, ferroelectric, and magnetoelectric coupling effects of the composite liquids were investigated comparatively. Under the effect of magnetic field, the dielectric constants, Pr and Pmax were increased to some extent, with a greater increase observed with increasing volume fraction. The magnetic dielectric response was largest at 74.16% when the volume fraction was 5%. The establishment and disintegration of the magnetoelectric particle chain structure occurred when the magnetic field was applied and withdrawn, resulting in a sawtooth-shaped dielectric curve with a response time of approximately 0.5 s. At a volume fraction of 5%, a higher density of chain structure was produced by the magnetoelectric field, resulting in a very large “clamping effect” between the chains and a very saturated hysteresis line. The magnetoelectric voltage coefficient (αME) at room temperature was as high as 46.23 V/(cm Oe), and showed good fatigue resistance of the liquid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composite strips combine the advantages of each component, and the thickness of each layer directly determines whether it can meet the special requirements of different environments and service conditions. Prediction of rolling force and layer thickness is very important for process control and product performance. There are many complex strong coupling variables in bimetal clad rolling (CR), and it is difficult to build a concise mathematical model suitable for production. The idea of equivalent clad rolling (ECR) is creatively proposed and the corresponding relationship between CR and ECR is established. By analyzing the deformation zone of each metal in the CR process, the equivalent roll radius and equivalent deformation length of each layer are established, the calculation methods of improved Stone and Bland-Ford-Hill rolling force applicable to the bimetal CR process are presented, the calculation connection bridge of equal rolling force is proposed, the coupling iteration relationships of flattening radius and rolling force are established through adjusting the reduction rate of each layer, and then the prediction model of layer thickness and rolling force in bimetal CR is developed. The ECR analytical model is verified by finite element simulation and related CR experiments. Using the proposed model, the relationships between the layer thicknesses before and after CR are established, and the effects of different process parameters such as reduction rate, inlet clad ratio, total inlet thickness, friction factor ratio on outlet clad ratio and the rolling force are expounded. Based on the mature single-strip rolling calculation model, the proposed ECR prediction model is short in calculation time and convenient in application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was focused on evaluating the effects of Bacillus methylotrophicus SY200 in broiler production. A total of 120 healthy 7-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, which included basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.10%, 0.25%, or 0.50% (w/w) B. methylotrophicus SY200 preparation (1.0 × 109 cfu/g), regarded as negative control group (NC), low-dose group (BML), medium-dose group (BMM), and high-dose group (BMH), respectively. Each treatment was fed the corresponding experimental diet for 35 days. Results showed that dietary supplementation of B. methylotrophicus SY200 could improve broiler weight gain, especially the finisher phase. Further studies suggested that a certain amount of B. methylotrophicus SY200 enhanced the broiler antioxidant status and improved the morphological development of jejunum. Besides, dietary supplementation of B. methylotrophicus SY200 especially in 0.50% levels significantly increased the relative weight of immune organs and Newcastle disease virus antibody titer, similarly, increased mRNA expression levels of claudin-1, claudin-3, zonula occluden-1, and zonula occluden-2 were observed in the jejunum of BMM group. Moreover, B. methylotrophicus SY200 also showed beneficial effects in improving broilers microbiota homeostasis by increasing the number of beneficial bacteria. Conclusively, B. methylotrophicus SY200 could effectively improve the antioxidant status, modulate the intestinal structure, enhance the intestinal mucosal barrier function, and regulate the immune function of broilers, which finally improves the performance of the chicken in the finisher period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the great progress in action recognition made by deep neural networks, visual tempo may be overlooked in the feature learning process of existing methods. The visual tempo is the dynamic and temporal scale variation of actions. Existing models usually understand spatiotemporal scenes using temporal and spatial convolutions, which are limited in both temporal and spatial dimensions, and they cannot cope with differences in visual tempo changes. To address these issues, we propose a multi-receptive field spatiotemporal (MRF-ST) network to effectively model the spatial and temporal information of different receptive fields. In the proposed network, dilated convolution is utilized to obtain different receptive fields. Meanwhile, dynamic weighting for different dilation rates is designed based on the attention mechanism. Thus, the proposed MRF-ST network can directly caption various tempos in the same network layer without any additional cost. Moreover, the network can improve the accuracy of action recognition by learning more visual tempos of different actions. Extensive evaluations show that MRF-ST reaches the state-of-the-art on three popular benchmarks for action recognition: UCF-101, HMDB-51, and Diving-48. Further analysis also indicates that MRF-ST can significantly improve the performance at the scenes with large variances in visual tempo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the application effect of antimicrobial peptides Gal-13 (AMP Gal-13) instead of antibiotic feed additives, 90 7-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group A was fed a basic diet as the control, and Groups B and C were supplemented with AMP Gal-13 (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively). After a 35-day feeding experiment, the weight and average daily gain (ADG) of the broilers in Group B were significantly higher than those of the broilers in Group A. The Enterococcus sp. and Escherichia coli counts in the ileum and cecum in Group A were significantly higher than those in Groups B and C, while the Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Bifidobacterium sp. counts were significantly lower. The amylase activity of the jejunum in Group B was significantly higher than that in Group A. The villus length (VL): crypt depth (CD) ratios of the jejunum and ileum in Group B were significantly higher than those in Group A. The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in the liver and serum in Groups B and C were significantly higher than those in Group A, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity was significantly lower. The titers of Newcastle disease virus (NDV)–specific antibodies were elevated significantly in Group B at the age of 42 days. Additionally, the weights of the spleen and thymus were significantly increased. The expression levels of Il-2, Il-6, Tgf-β4, Tnf-α, and Mif in the spleen in Groups B and C were significantly downregulated to different degrees; Il-4 expression in Group B was significantly upregulated, while Ifn-γ expression in Group C was significantly upregulated. The results suggested that adding AMP Gal-13 to the diet could improve intestinal digestion, the antioxidant capacity, and immune function, ultimately promoting the growth of broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Continuous cropping causes enormous crop produce reduction, and soil fumigation is an effective approach to alleviate the limitation. Understanding the impacts of agriculture management on microbial community and its association with nutrient availability would provide strong supports for alleviating continuous cropping limitation. However, the mechanisms of fumigants in enhancing plant growth and alleviating continuous cropping barriers was not clear. Methods: In this study, fumigation treatments including chloropicrin (CP), dazomet (DZ), and untreated control (CK) were carried out at field scale, and rhizosphere bacterial community and plant phytochrome were analyzed. Results: The results showed that fumigation had strong effects on rhizosphere bacterial community and soil properties. Fumigation treatment caused significantly reduction in rhizosphere bacterial diversity. The nitrifiers (Nitrospira and Nitrospirillum) and functional gene (ammonia oxidizing bacterial AOB amoA) were significantly inhibited by fumigation treatment, which caused significant reduction in nitrification potential (PNF). The inhibition of nitrifiers, AOB amoA gene and PNF led to significant reduction of soil NO3−-N, but increase of NH4+-N. Subsequently, plant photosynthesis was enhanced as a result of increasing leaf chlorophyll a content caused by fumigation treatment. Therefore, fumigation treatment would promote crop growth through increasing the photosynthetic pigment. Conclusion: The study indicated the key mechanisms fumigation promoting plant growth and alleviating cropping limitation were closely related to soil nitrifiers and nitrogen nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) are two primary components of the eukaryotic membrane and play essential roles in the maintenance of membrane integrity, lipid droplet biogenesis, autophagosome formation, and lipoprotein formation and secretion. Choline/ethanolamine phosphotransferase 1 (CEPT1) catalyzes the last step of the biosynthesis of PC and PE in the Kennedy pathway by transferring the substituted phosphate group from CDP-choline/ethanolamine to diacylglycerol. Here, we present the cryo-EM structures of human CEPT1 and its complex with CDP-choline at resolutions of 3.7 Å and 3.8 Å, respectively. CEPT1 is a dimer with 10 transmembrane segments (TMs) in each protomer. TMs 1-6 constitute a conserved catalytic domain with an interior hydrophobic chamber accommodating a PC-like density. Structural observations and biochemical characterizations suggest that the hydrophobic chamber coordinates the acyl tails during the catalytic process. The PC-like density disappears in the structure of the complex with CDP-choline, suggesting a potential substrate-triggered product release mechanism. Choline/ethanolamine phosphotransferase 1 (CEPT1) catalyzes the last step of the biosynthesis of PC and PE. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structures of human CEPT1 and its complex with CDP-choline and reveal a hydrophobic chamber to accommodate the acyl tails during the catalytic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algae–bacteria symbiosis can promote the growth of microalgae and improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment. Attached culture is an efficient culture technique for microalgae, with benefits of high yield, low water consumption and easy harvesting. However, the promoting effects of bacteria on microalgae in attached culture are still unclear. In this study, different forms of a nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Azotobacter beijerinckii (including bacteria supernatant, live bacteria, and broken bacteria), were co-cultured with Chlorella pyrenoidosa in an attached culture system using wastewater as the culture medium. The results showed that the broken A. beijerinckii form had the best growth promotion effect on C. pyrenoidosa. Compared with the pure algae culture, the biomass of C. pyrenoidosa increased by 71.8% and the protein increased by 28.2%. The live bacteria form had the best effect on improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment by C. pyrenoidosa, with the COD, PO43− and NH4+–N removal rates increased by 20.8%, 18.5% and 8.9%, respectively, in comparison with the pure algae culture. The attached co-culture mode promoted the growth of C. pyrenodisa better than the suspended co-culture mode. This research offers a new way for improving microalgae biomass and wastewater treatment by attached algae–bacteria symbiont. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-step electrochemical process including electrooxidation (EO) and electrocoagulation (EC) was proposed for the tertiary treatment of bio-treated landfill leachate (BTLL). The operating conditions of sole EO and EC technology were optimized via batch tests. Batch tests indicate that EO displayed superior removal efficiency towards color (89%) and UV254 (64%) under optimal experimental conditions. EC with the electrode combinations Fe–Fe-Fe–Fe (four plates, anode–cathode-anode–cathode) performed better than the other electrode combinations (Fe-Al–Fe-Al, Al–Fe-Al–Fe, Al-Al-Al-Al) and showed excellent removal efficiency towards COD (60%) and color (85%). In continuous-flow tests of 13 h, compared to sequential EC-EO process, the sequential EO-EC process was more effective than the sequential EC-EO process in reducing organic matters (COD, TOC) and residual chlorine. The sequential EO-EC process could remove 50% COD, 55% TOC, 72% UV254, and 96% color. The average concentration of residual chlorine in the final effluent of EO-EC process (147 mg/L) was significantly lower than that of EC-EO process (463 mg/L). UV–vis and GC–MS analyses indicate that the BTLL mainly contained humic acid and fulvic acid-like substances with unsaturated bonds. Conjugated unsaturated organics could be degraded into organic of small molecular weight after the sequential EO-EC process. EEM spectroscopic analysis revealed that soluble microbial byproducts became the predominant organics in the final effluent. This work verifies the synergism between EO and EC and provides some insights into the removal and degradation performance of organic substances in BTLL during the sequential EO-EC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal sludge (MS) is used to prepare coal water slurry (CWS). This practice is beneficial for resource utilization and reduces treatment costs and environmental pollution. In this study, alkali-modified municipal sludge (AMS) was prepared with Ca(OH)2 as modifier and mixed with coal to produce AMS-CWS. The effect and mechanism of MS and AMS on slurry ability, stability, and combustion characteristics of the CWS were explored. The results of the pulping experiments showed that the slurry concentration of the AMS-CWS was approximately 10% greater than that of MS-CWS. The water separation rates of MS-CWS and AMS-CWS were 5% and 5.26%, respectively, which were 13.62% and 13.36% less than that of CWS (18.62%). The zeta potential experiments verified these results. Combustion performance research shows that both MS and AMS have positive effects on combustion performance. The results of the contact angle experiments showed that the hydrophobicity of AMS was enhanced, which was beneficial for improving the pulping capacity of MS-CWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study evaluated the nutritional quality in muscle tissues of nine commercially important marine fish species. And the concentrations of trace metals (i.e. As, Hg, Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd and Zn) in the muscles (edible part) and tissues (gill and liver) of fishes caught from Dachen fishing ground, the coast of Zhejiang Province, East China Sea, were determined, and the values of target hazard quotient (THQ) and the carcinogenic risk (TR) were calculated for assessing human health risk. Significant differences(P < 0.05) were observed in the proximate chemical composition of fish muscles in these species. The muscle protein content of fish species ranged from 12.36 to 23.41%. The muscle lipid content of fishes ranged from 0.48 to 2.54%. The accumulation capacity of heavy metals (except Cr) in livers and gills was higher than that in muscles. In addition, the accumulation ability of most fishes is related to the water layer they live, the fishes living in the demersal layer showed more accumulation of heavy metals than the middle-upper layer(except Cu). Estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI) and the carcinogenic risk (TR) assessed for potential human health risk implications suggest that the values were within the acceptable threshold for human. However, the carcinogenic risk(TR) of As and Cr was close to the critical limit (10–4). Therefore, in order to ensure the health and safety of human consumption, the continuous monitoring of heavy metals in Dachen fishing ground area is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water environment conditions directly support aquatic life. It is important to maintain a suitable water environment to improve the efficient use of water resources. Supersaturation of total dissolved gas (TDG) in the water will cause fish suffer from gas bubble disease and even mortalities. Measures should be taken to mitigate the adverse effect of supersaturated TDG. Considering the adsorption effect of porous medium, activated carbon (AC) was utilized in this experiment to explore the effect of AC on supersaturated TDG removal. The effects of AC properties, AC dosage, and initial TDG saturation were investigated. The results showed that adding AC in the water could effectively accelerate the supersaturated TDG removal rate, which was positively correlated with the AC specific surface area and dosage. Meanwhile, the average dissipation rate of TDG increased and then decreased with increasing initial TDG saturation. The adsorption characteristics of AC on supersaturated TDG were also explored. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity and removal rate were 0.262 mg/g and 48.5% respectively. It was concluded that the adsorption process of AC on supersaturated TDG conformed to the Langmuir equation and pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Recycling test indicated that the used AC could be reused after drying. It was hoped that this research could contribute to improving water environment and ensuring the healthy development of the aquatic livings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a brittleness evaluation index B5 and brittleness–plasticity classification standard for cementitious materials were established, and a suggestion for brittleness reduction was proposed. The results showed that B5 established based on the principle of energy conversion can effectively characterize the variation in the brittleness of cementitious materials with the confining pressure, and the brittleness order of different cementitious materials. Based on the established brittleness–plasticity classification standard, the ranges of B5 corresponding to the weak, high and ideal brittleness are [0.3, 0.6), [0.6, 1) and 1, respectively; and those corresponding to the weak, high and ideal plasticity are [0.1, 0.3), (0, 0.1) and 0, respectively. Finally, a suggestion for brittleness reduction using prismatic aggregates and hybrid nanofibers, flexible and rigid fibers of different sizes was proposed, and the corresponding design process of cementitious materials with weak brittleness was given. The research results in this study provide a basis for the brittleness evaluation of cementitious materials and the design of cementitious materials with weak brittleness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetoelectric composite materials have attracted increasing attention because of their coupling between ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism. In this work, a new method has been used to prepare composite ceramics. Ferromagnetic phase Co(Fe1−xMnx)2O4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) with porous surfaces were prepared by annealing a metal organic framework (MOF) precursor (Fe1−xMnx)3[Co(CN)6]2·nH2O, and the ferroelectric phase BaTiO3 was grown in situ in the pores of Co(Fe1−xMnx)2O4 by a hydrothermal method. The structure, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Co(Fe1−xMnx)2O4-BaTiO3 composite ceramics have been comparatively studied. XRD results indicate that with the increase of x, the crystalline structure of the ferromagnetic phase changes from CoFe2O4 (x = 0.2, 0.4) to CoMn2O4 (x = 0.6, 0.8) and SEM results show that the compactness of ceramics is better with increasing x. Because the conductivity of CoMn2O4 is far larger than that of CoFe2O4, the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of composite ceramics with x = 0.2 and 0.4 are better than that of x = 0.6 and 0.8. With the increase in the ratio of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric phases, the compactness of the ceramics was enhanced. Meanwhile, due to the higher conduction loss and leakage current of the ferromagnetic phase, the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of composite ceramics weaken with the increase of the ferromagnetic phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 31% of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) have pre-existing hypertension, but its effects on patient survival have not been investigated. We collected data from 228 newly diagnosed patients with MM and found that 71 (31.1%) had pre-existing hypertension. The impact of pre-existing hypertension on MM patients was determined by evaluating progression-free survival (PFS). Kaplan–Meier analyses revealed a significantly lower PFS in the pre-existing hypertension group than their non-hypertensive counterparts (median 22.6 vs 34.8 months, respectively). The multivariable Cox proportional hazards model showed that pre-existing hypertension was an independent risk factor for PFS reduction in MM patients. Moreover, the risk of disease progression in MM patients with pre-existing hypertension was higher than in non-hypertension comparator patients (hazard ratio 1.735, 95% confidence interval 1.261–2.387). In MM patients with pre-existing hypertension, Kaplan–Meier analyses found that those with a higher risk of hypertension had a significantly shorter PFS than those with lower risk (median 19.3 vs 25.4 months, respectively). However, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the risk stratification of hypertension was not an independent risk factor for poor PFS in MM patients with pre-existing hypertension. Our study demonstrates that pre-existing hypertension was significantly associated with a lower PFS in newly diagnosed MM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) based on speed and separation monitoring should consider the difference of risk factors in the scene; otherwise, the sudden invasion of non-operators or routine operation of the operator may stop the robot system. In this paper, we propose a sensing network based on the fusion of multi-information to obtain scene semantic information and employ it to realize risk assessment. However, due to the influence of light on the image information sensed by RGB cameras, it is not easy to obtain accurate scene semantic information. We apply a depth camera and a thermal imager to obtain depth and infrared information to enhance the RGB images. We build a risk information database and use it to quantify the obtained scene semantic information into risk factors. The dynamic change of risk factors judges whether the distance between humans and robots is safe. The experimental results verify that the algorithm of intelligent human-robot monitoring can realize the analysis of dangerous situations and control the robot system, thereby reducing the number of false shutdowns and improving safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of sintering temperature on the dielectric, ferroelectric, and magnetic performance of Co0.8Cu0.2Fe2O4@(Pb0.95La0.05)(Zr0.86Ti0.14)O3 (CCFO@PLZT) composite ceramics with core–shell structure were investigated. The X-ray diffraction results confirmed the bi-phase structure of the composites, with insufficient sintering temperature and inadequate reaction leading to the presence of Pb2O3 and ZrO2. Transmission electron microscope images showed that the core–shell structure was prepared, and the scanning electron microscope images showed that the average grain size of the ceramic samples increased with the increase of the sintering temperature. The dielectric constant does not change linearly as the sintering temperature rises, but tends to increase and then decrease, which could be owing to the fact the crystallinity of impurities increases, affecting their dielectric properties. The dispersion indices were 1.58, 1.64, 1.60, 1.61, and 1.70 with increasing temperature, indicating that the relaxation of CCFO@PLZT ceramics was enhanced. The residual polarization intensity (Pr) of CCFO@PLZT ceramics increased first and then decreased with increasing sintering temperature, reaching a maximum value of Pr ~ 1.849 μC/cm2 at 1050 °C, but this may be caused by the excessive leakage current. Grain growth, density reduction and partial reduction of Fe3+ ions to Fe2+ ions lead to a decrease in saturation magnetization intensity (Ms), residual magnetization intensity (Mr) and coercivity (Hc) with the increase of sintering temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiferroic materials have attracted much attention because of their magnetoelectric coupling effect. In this paper, MnFe2O4 (MFO) magnetic particles and PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) ferroelectric particles were prepared by hydrothermal method and sol–gel method, respectively. PZT particles with different sizes were produced by tuning the sintering temperature, and on this basis, MFO-PZT multiferroic liquid was prepared by using monoamino ethoxy-coupling agent as the surfactants and dimethyl silicone oil as the carrier liquid. The effect of PZT particle size on magnetoelectric properties was studied. XRD and SEM show that the PZT particle and the MFO particle have no secondary phase, the size of MFO particle is 52 nm, and the PZT particle sizes are 0.38 μm, 1.07 μm, 1.68 μm, and 1.79 μm, respectively. When the particle size of PZT is 0.38 μm, a large dielectric constant of 8.39 of the multiferroic liquid was observed at low frequency (250 Hz). When the size of PZT is 1.79 μm, the liquid has the maximum saturation polarization intensity Ps ~ 0.0191 μC/cm2 and the maximum residual polarization intensity Pr ~ 0.0063 μC/cm2 was obtained. When a magnetic field is applied, the value of both Pr and Ps increases. When the size of PZT is 1.07 μm, the maximum magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of the liquid is 54.82 V/(cm·Oe). Compared with the same series of magnetoelectric materials, the magnetoelectric composite multiferroic liquid has a potential application prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(K,Na)NbO3 − x at.% Tm2O3 (KNNTx) piezoelectric ceramics with submicron grain size were successfully prepared by solid-state method combined with microwave sintering. With the increase of content of Tm3+, KNNTx ceramics gradually transformed from orthorhombic (O) phase to the coexistence of O and tetragonal (T) phase at room temperature, and the phase transition temperature of O–T phase shifted to low temperature region. The leakage behaviors, dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of KNNTx ceramics depend on the structure evolution, cationic vacancy and grain refinement caused by Tm3+ doping, and the relevant mechanisms have been illustrated. The substitution of Tm3+ at A sites increases the critical driving force for the rapid growth of grains and obviously refine the grain of KNNTx ceramics, resulting in its deteriorated ferroelectricity and enhanced piezoelectricity. Especially the piezoelectric constant of KNNTx ceramics increased from 109.8 to 163.6 pC/N. These findings are of great significance for developing excellent lead-free piezoelectric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variable gauge rolling is a new process to obtain a plate for which the thickness changes continuously by continuously and dynamically adjusting the roll gap upward and downward in the rolling process. This technology is an effective method for producing lightweight, low-cost, and economical plates. However, variable gauge rolling is an unsteady process, and the changes in the force and deformation parameters are complex. In this research, based on the minimum energy theory of the variational principle and considering the characteristics of the roll movement and workpiece deformation comprehensively, the internal plastic deformation, friction, shear and tension powers, and the minimum result of the total power functional in upward and downward rolling are obtained with the first integral and then with a variation of adopting the specific plastic power and strain rate vector inner product. The analytical results of the deformation and force parameters are also established using the variational method. Then the precision of this model is certified using the measured values in a medium plate hot rolling plant and the experimental data for Tailor Rolled Blank rolling. Good agreement is found. Additionally, the variation rule of bite angle, neutral angle, and location neutral points are shown, and the change mechanism of the friction parameter on the stress state effect coefficient is given in variable gauge rolling. This research proposes a new mathematical model for rolling process control that provides a scientific basis and technical support for obtaining an accurate section shape in variable gauge rolling production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uniaxial compressive stress–strain behaviour of hybrid basalt–polypropylene fibre-reinforced concrete (HBPRC) having different matrix strengths was investigated. The results showed that basalt fibre (BF) and polypropylene fibre (PF) reduce the damage degree of concrete and gradually change the concrete failure mode from shear failure to longitudinal splitting failure. BF and PF improve the critical strain and peak stress of concrete, and the improvement effect of BF is greater than that of PF. However, addition of an excessive amount of hybrid fibre reduces the peak stress of concrete. BF addition increases the elastic modulus of concrete, whereas PF addition decreases it. Addition of an appropriate amount of hybrid fibre has a positive effect on the elastic modulus of concrete. The toughness of concrete increases with the addition of BF and PF and the increase in the matrix strength. When HBPRC is destroyed, BF mainly shows tensile failure, whereas PF mainly shows pull-out failure and undergoes extrusion and torsion deformation. BF and PF mainly improve the strength and deformation performance of concrete, respectively. A constitutive model for HBPRC that considers the effects of both mechanical damage and fibre reinforcement is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work investigated the microstructural stability and mechanical property of a medium-Si 12%Cr reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel (Fe-0.21C-11.76Cr-1.41W-0.17Ta-0.2V-0.63Si-0.51Mn-0.015N, wt.%) at high temperatures. Alloy samples were normalized at 1100 °C for 1 h and tempered at 700 ºC for 1 h, and finally aged at 550 and 650 °C for 5-500 h. In the tempered state, Cr23C6 and MC carbides were precipitated into the full martensitic matrix, which is consistent with the thermodynamic calculated results. This alloy exhibited a higher microstructural stability during aging at 550 ºC without any obvious widening of martensitic laths and coarsening of carbides. But the martensitic laths were widened when aged at 650 ºC, as evidenced by the increase in lath width from ~ 124 nm in tempered state to ~ 275 nm in 500 h-aged state. Also, the Cr23C6 carbides were coarsened with the length increasing from ~ 132 nm in tempered state to ~ 240 nm in 500 h-aged state along the lath interface. While MC carbides have a much higher stability and the particle size keeps constant (90-110 nm) even after 500 h aging at 650 ºC, which is ascribed to the different diffusion coefficients of carbide-forming elements. This aged alloy exhibited prominent mechanical properties with high yield strength of σYS = 616-689 MPa at room temperature and σYS = 507-577 MPa at 550 ºC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The root phenotypic traits have been considered as important factors in shaping the rhizosphere microbiome and regulating plant growth. However, the relationships between root phenotypic traits and the rhizosphere bacterial community remain unclear. We investigated two fields with different developing tobacco roots by a long-term positioning test in Hengshi. The well-developed root system (WDR) showed much more superiority in root phenotypic traits, including total root length, total projection area, surface area, and root tip number, than the underdeveloped root system. The specific root traits in WDR provided more ecological niches for the rhizosphere microorganisms, contributing to a more diverse microbial community and a more complex microbial network. The total root length and root tip number were the key factors shaping bacterial communities in the rhizosphere. In turn, the phyla Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes might play vital roles in modifying root development and promoting plant growth according to their positive correlation with root phenotypic traits. Linking root phenotypic traits to the microbiome may enhance our understanding of rhizospheric interactions and their roles in developing rhizosphere ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important food crop in the world, with significant acreage and production across the globe. However, it is affected by low temperatures throughout its growth process, especially during germination. Therefore, it is important to identify more QTLs or genes associated with germination under low-temperature conditions. For the QTL analysis of traits related to low-temperature germination, we used a high-res genetic map of 213 lines of the intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) Syn10 doubled haploid (DH) population, which had 6618 bin markers. We detected 28 QTLs of eight phenotypic characteristics associated with low-temperature germination, while they explained the phenotypic contribution rate of 5.4 ~ 13.34%. Additionally, 14 overlapping QTLs produced six QTL clusters on every chromosome, except for 8 and 10. RNA-Seq found six genes related to low-temperature tolerance in these QTLs, while qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the expression trends of the Zm00001d045568 gene in the LT_BvsLT_M group and the CK_BvsCK_M group were highly significantly different at all four-time points (P < 0.01), and encoded the RING zinc finger protein. It was located on qRTL9-2 and qRSVI9-1 and is related to the total length and simple vitality index. These results provided potential candidate genes for further gene cloning and improving the low-temperature tolerance of maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]